My Labor Day weekend was rather relaxed. This is adult-speak for “I didn’t do anything productive.” Part of that was due to some type of issue I had on Saturday.
I had received numerous mosquito bites on both knees, my left elbow, and my hands, as well as assorted bites elsewhere. The area of multiple bites became very itchy, swollen and painful, while the single bites just itched. I was also out of it. I felt light-headed and zoned-out, almost like I had been drinking. Robin mentioned that I appeared to be “out of it.” Sunday was a little better, although I still felt a bit light-headed. Monday was better, with the itching down to a manageable level.
I’ve never had a reaction to mosquito bites like that before. Many, many moons ago, I had a similar reaction to numerous chigger bites I received during an ROTC FTX (Field Training Exercise). I had numerous chigger bites in the groin area, and the subsequent itching and reaction led to a trip to the ER for sedation. What can I say? I am one of those genetically gifted buffets for biting insects. And I chose the Infantry, and camping and hiking…nowadays I just like sitting on my back patio, watching the hummingbirds, the flocks of compsognathus sparrows that eat everything in my bird feeders, and the numerous flowers in my care. And I get eaten alive.
We have a company called Mosquito Joes come out every three weeks to treat for mosquitos. They normally work out well. Lately, however… I imagine that the Skyrizi I take for my Crohn’s Disease has something to do with it, but I don’t know that for sure. They treated this morning. Hopefully, by the time the heat breaks I’ll be able to get back outside. The mosquitos will be waiting, I’m sure.
I went out last night to lay some spare ribs on the grill for dinner, then came back inside. In that short period of time, I got bitten on my right wrist. It’s slightly swollen and sore, as well as itchy. I’m, guessing I’ve developed an allergy to mosquito venom? We have Asian Tiger Mosquitos, and these little turds are nasty, if somewhat easy to identify. They bite during the day, too. You would think that the chemical concoction in my bloodstream would cause these blood-suckers to explode upon ingestion, but no. Apparently it makes my blood equivalent to Nectar of the Gods.
One thing I did do was to harvest my sunflowers. We had about a dozen this year, and they grew to impressive heights. The tallest being over 8 feet. This was a variety with small seeds. What I ended up doing was harvesting the flowers with seeds and piling them up under the bird feeders for the birds and squirrels. At one point I looked out back. My oldest grandson, Roman, and his friend Oliver were sitting at a patio table, with a pile of the flowers in front of them. They were using rocks to beat the seeds out of the flowers, and were harvest what seeds they could to snack on. I thought about saying something, but, a) They weren’t doing anything dangerous or costly and, b) I remember, sort of, being that young. I was impressed at their industriousness, and that they could do all that without getting the snot bit out of them by the mosquitos.
I am getting ready to head back up to the Milwaukee area, to do some safety and security assessments for a school district north of Milwaukee. This one will only be a couple of weeks. I’ll also be doing an assessment for a local private school. There’s also a possibility that I will be doing some training for the State of Louisiana in December, but that has not been finalized yet.
Maybe I’ll make enough money to buy a mosquito-proof suit.
Meditations of a Bald, Fat Guy 